- Date
- April 14, 1990, 23:30 local (Apr 15, 1990, 05:30 UTC)
- Place
- Wendover, UT
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N6401PPiper PA-24-250
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report October 18, 1991
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900414008879A
- Case key
- 17827
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's loss of control of the airplane due to spatial disorientation. Contributing factor(s) was: the lack of surface reference while taking off over a sparsely populated area under dark night light conditions.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The plt stated he activated the rwy edge lights prior to taxiing for takeoff, and taxied for 'quite a while' because the taxiway is not lighted. He believes the lights went out shortly after the airplane became airborne. The rwy lights remain illuminated for aprx 15 min after activation. The surviving pax remembered the airplane 'tumbling' after takeoff. The airplane struck the ground in a left wing down, nose low attitude. The airport is located southeast of the city, andpilots familiar with the airport described the area along the extended centerline of rwy 21 as 'a black hole'. The pilothad logged 4 hrs of night time in the last 90 days.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6401P
- Reported as
- Piper PA-24-250
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 241511
- Airframe hours
- 2,657
- Engine
- Lycoming O-540-A1C5, 250 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sorensen, Fred
- Registered owner
- Fred Sorensen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · April 10, 1990 · 1 hours before
- Departed
- ENV
- Destination
- SLC · Salt Lake City, UT
- Airport
- ENV · Wendover, runway 21, 9,100 × 150 ft, concrete
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 57
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 635 total · 207 in this make and model · 598 as pilot in command · 9 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 320° at 2 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ENV
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.